Course Objectives:

This is a first course in VLSI
Systems and Design. At the
completion of this course, a student is expected to be able to design and
analyze digital circuits, understand transistor operations, circuit families,
area-power-performance analysis, layout design techniques, signal integrity
analysis, memory design and clocking issues. Students are also expected to
understand various design methodologies such as custom, semi-custom, standard
cell, arrayed logic, sea-of-gates.

Course Description

(4 credits) The course will cover basic
theory and techniques of digital VLSI design in CMOS technology. Topics
include: CMOS devices and circuits, fabrication processes, static logic
structures, chip layout, simulation and testing, low power techniques, design
tools and methodologies, VLSI architecture. We use full-custom techniques to
design basic cells and regular structures such as data-path and memory arrays.
There is an emphasis on modern design issues in power, interconnect and
clocking. We will also use several case-studies to explore recent real-world
VLSI designs and papers from the recent research literature. Students will
design and verify small test circuits using commercial CAD tools. Some final
project designs may be fabricated and returned for testing.

Honesty Policy: Consultation with fellow students
is encouraged, especially on design issues. However, directly copying another
student's work defeats the purpose of the assignments and is an honor code
violation. In addition, any collaborations or use of materials from previous
courses, texts, solution manuals or advice from others should be clearly stated
in the homework or lab report. Give credit where credit is due! Be honest about
your own abilities and accomplishments!

For 658 students: If you are a grad student you
should take 658. You can not take both 558 and 658. For 658, there will be
additional readings and additional or alternate problems on homework, labs and
exams which require more sophisticated and creative solutions.

Computer Requirements: The default CAD tools for all students
are Cadence and Synopsys electronic design automation tools. An example flow and a tutorial on the use of these tools are available
at the TA Page. Since all the tools are Unix based, they can be accessed using any X-server program from machines running on
MS Windows.

Topics:

Introduction
to VLSI; CMOS; design metrics

Combinational
logic, layout, design rules

Manufacturing
process;

CMOS
Transistor; Inverter;

Low
Power design strategies

Circuit
families; Static and
Dynamic

Sequential
Circuits

Clocking
and Synchronization

Deep
sub-micron designs; design for performance

Wires

Adders,
Multipliers, data paths

Memory

Emerging
topics; On-chip Sensors, Variability and Hardware Security

CMOS
system design, Floor plan, Placement and routing, Project design

Homeworks: There will be about four
homework assignments which allow you to practice your analytical skills. Most
of these will require the use of the SPICE circuit simulators.

Labs : There will be four lab projects
which allow you to practice your design skills using computer aided design
tools. These labs are a substantial and memorable ;) part of the course. A
variety of CAD tools will be used for design and simulations. Lab 4 will be a
final project which will be worth double the value of the other labs. Note that
each lab builds on the previous ones.